Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – Seductive Demonology

If you remember our review of the original version of this game, released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in 2021, you know that we were already very excited. This year’s enhanced version not only brings the game to almost every other gaming platform, with a corresponding portion of technical improvements, but also mainly enriches it with a large number of all kinds of additions in many directions, starting with a completely new and more intense story, with a stream of new demons and bosses, the entire series has improved gameplay mechanics. It’s a similar difference from the basic Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal Edition, where the original version of the game is almost completely devoid of meaning (and the original version is removed from sales in digital stores and replaced by a much improved version). At the same time, it is still one of the most interesting games in the genre.

• Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, X1, XSX|S, Switch
• Publication date: 06.14.2024
• Manufacturer: Atlus (Japan)
• Genre: Japanese role-playing game
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: No
• Data for download: 26 GB
• Play time: 70+ hours
• Price: 1499 CZK (Alsa)

New story, new characters

One of the most interesting new features in this edition of the game is the presence of a completely new story, which is presented as an additional variation of the original. At the beginning of the game, you are informed of the existence of a mysterious girl and you can decide whether to release her into the world from a mysterious prison between dimensions. If you do not release her, you will get the “Canon of Creation”, which is an unchanged version of the story as we know it from the original game. But if you release the girl, you will receive the “Canon of Vengeance”, which is an entirely new variation of the story. Although it is based on key events or perhaps locations from the original version of the game, it fundamentally enriches and changes them, including many new situations, dialogues, or perhaps bosses.

If you haven’t played the original game and don’t know the series, I remind you that this is a game in which the individual parts are not connected to each other in any way. SMTV contains new characters and a new plot, so you can enter the series with this work without any fears. The story tells of a biblical apocalypse, after which you wake up as a high school student in the ruins of modern Tokyo and find that almost all people are dead, and the world is now inhabited by demons serving chaos, angels serving order, and all sorts of other mythical creatures from the legends of the entire human world and history, fighting for power, territory, or just survival. Gradually, you will have to join some of them, recruit allies for your squad, uncover the secrets of this new world and, finally, decide how to deal with it.

Almost all humans are dead, and the world is now inhabited by demons.

Vengeance’s new story takes a sharp approach to the criticisms of the original version of the game. It places more emphasis on a handful of survivors, whose fates and relationships with your character and each other are much more fleshed out, with a higher dose of dialogue. The main attraction is the presence of a mysterious girl. Her name is Yoko, and for much of the game she has the unique function of commenting on your (non-linear) decisions or events, something like a mysterious judge or observer. A major improvement on this front is also the ability for much of the game to have human characters directly in your active party and on the battlefield, even if only in the form of “guests” whose development or abilities you can’t determine much about and who can leave you at any time for the sake of the story. I also shouldn’t forget to mention a brand new quartet of main villains – the highly sexualized demonesses Kadištu. Overall, the story unfortunately falls short of the genre’s cutting edge, still suffering from a somewhat shaky introduction and a strange detachment (which nonetheless makes sense in the context of your character’s gradual dehumanization as they become more or less a god), but it’s certainly interesting and well-rounded, with the Revenge variant offering noticeably better pacing and deeper character development than the original Creation version of the story.

Improvements on all fronts

The gameplay itself and other forms of content have also seen a number of improvements. The most basic is the even greater variety of demons you encounter in this world, fight them, and can recruit them into your active party to train them, improve their abilities, and then also breed them with each other. It simply works like Pokemon, but with demons. Among the new additions, you will find all sorts of favorites from older parts of the series or its branches (for example, Soul Hackers 2), as well as completely new creatures, for example from African mythology. In addition to new demons and bosses, the game also has a completely new location – the locations here are large “open worlds”, so another is a real addition, especially when it is so aesthetically pleasing. There is also a new dungeon.

It just works like Pokemon, but with demons.

On the functional side, you will certainly be pleased with the ability to save your position at any time outside of combat, so you do not have to wait to find the next checkpoint. Universal game menus contain new and improved features, including, for example, two map modes – classic 2D and dynamic 3D, in which you can zoom in on the camera. New “rails” have appeared on the map, which are used to quickly move between locations in real time. Of course, higher resolution, smoothness and the presence of new special effects, where, for example, dynamic lighting of characters with spells during battles add to the impressiveness of the game. The unique art style still needs to be gotten used to, but the improved graphics only confirm and emphasize how powerful and successful it really is.

However, the combat system in this game is probably the best turn-based combat system in the entire JRPG genre. The diamond-like balance of weaknesses and mechanics makes every fight exciting and can end with one wrong move, keeping your undivided attention throughout the gameplay without becoming a chore, no matter the game’s difficulty level. But at the same time, it very noticeably rewards the right decisions or carefully bred demon hybrids in your party. Venegance also makes improvements to the combat system, such as innate abilities, allowing for even more interesting combinations on the battlefield. Together with the ingenious open-world design, where you’ll find something interesting at every turn and which connects beautifully with countless shortcuts etc., it’s still one of the best games of its kind. You just have to get over the initial shock, as the first look at the game or its first hours can still seem a bit chaotic or suspiciously difficult to some. But that will quickly change as you spend more hours once you really get into SMTV.